Thumbs up, thumbs down: Judging Brevard's winners, losers in the news

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Thumbs down: To Jim Ford for leaving the Brevard property appraiser's office in financial and organizational shambles. When Dana Blickley took over as appraiser in January, she faced $710,000 of unbudgeted expenses for accrued sick leave and vacation time for 16 staffers who quit and Ford refunding excess fees to the county. Blickley said the office was a "mess" on her first day, with missing furniture and phones. "It's going to be a tough quarter," she said last week. "We are still running projections to see whether we run out of money before the end of the quarter."

Thumbs up: To Florida high school students for ranking fourth nationally in advanced placement test scores in 2012, up from sixth the previous year. Florida also had the highest AP participation rate for a fourth year. In Brevard, more than 3,500 students took an AP class in 2012. Those earning a score of three or higher on the five-point-scale test can receive college credit at most schools. Last year, more than 63 percent of Brevard students received a 3 or better.

Thumbs down: To Titusville High School for suspending nine baseball players after they appeared in a video doing their rendition of the popular "Harlem Shake" dance. The student who filmed the video and posted it to his YouTube account also was suspended. The athletes reportedly pulled down their pants to reveal their baseball sliders in the video, which was filmed on school grounds, according to WFTV Channel 9. Suspending the students for just having fun and expressing themselves was too harsh.

Thumbs up: To Gordon L. Petro, 80, a retired U.S. Army sergeant major, who received a Prisoner of War Medal last week, nearly 60 years after he was freed from a POW camp in Korea, where he spent two years. U.S. Rep. Bill Posey presented the medal to the humble veteran, who served 27 years in the Army. Thumbs up, too, to staff at Candlewood Suites in Melbourne, who learned of Petro's service while getting to know him during his stay at the hotel last year after his wife died, and contacted Posey staffer Rob Medina.

Thumbs down: To the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for not inviting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to speak at this year's conference, signaling the Republican "base" is still all about Sarah Palin, who is among the invitees, and others. Potential presidential hopefuls who accepted invitations include Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. Christie, while popular in New Jersey, has fallen out of favor with some conservatives, first by praising President Obama after Superstorm Sandy, just before the election, and then criticizing his party's failure to pass a Sandy bill.

Thumbs up: To Waste Management, for its plans to contribute more than $150,000 to the Field of Dreams project, a first-of-its-kind sports complex for disabled children and young adults planned in Brevard. After an initial payment of $150,000, Waste Management plans to donate $50,000 annually to support the program, which will be located at a $3 million, five-acre complex in West Melbourne.

Thumbs down: To Democratic New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who initially defended wearing blackface makeup to a costume party he hosted to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim. On Monday, Hikind dismissed criticism as "political correctness to the absurd." Later in the day, he apologized, saying he did not mean to offend anyone.

Thumbs up: To Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer for telling staff they need to work in company offices after years of many of them hiding out at home and being unproductive. The decision is aimed at fostering collaboration among employees at the tech giant, which has been struggling the past few years. "It is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions," said Jackie Reses, Yahoo's human resources chief.